Cheerful, joyful, gleeful, beaming. No matter how you put it, they all mainly mean "happy". This week I'm going to share with you what makes me happy. When I think of what makes me happy, there are many things that come to mind...friends, family, and music videos. Being with friends would make anyone happier or act happier, but my friends make me truly happy. My friends make me laugh so hard that I cry laughing or even get a stomach ache from laughing so much. They always know how to cheer me up when something is bothering me. They make my day better than the day before. For instance, at the fall challenge to relieve some stress, Micah, Brandon, and I were singing to some Disney songs. When a random song started playing, Brandon and Micah got up and started dancing and it was so funny. I love to do things with my friends because they can turn something boring into something irresistibly fun. For example, when we were at the craft fair set up, waiting for our parents to finish talking and it was hot and boring, So Micah started to fly his hat like a frisbee and it turned into a fun game. They are true friends that always by my side. Also, my family makes me happy. My dad loves to make me laugh and does anything to do so. My Nana also makes me happy by sharing stories with me to make me laugh. My brother would always find fun things to do when we were home together,. We would make our own music videos or just make up our own game of lightsabers, or anything we can think of. We always would end up laughing and having so much fun. Also my little cousin makes me laugh because he laughs at the smallest things. He has a very contagious laugh. My family is full of happiness and laughter. My favorite thing to do is spend time with my family during the holidays and traveling with my family to Disneyland or taking any family vacation. My family will never leave my side. Music videos make me happy because I love to act, sing, and dance (not in public). I started acting in 4th grade at Kalaheo School in the play Beauty and the Beast. I continued acting in 5th grade in Alice and Wonderland as a sassy flower (Lilly). I also enjoy singing when I'm alone with my family or friends or sometimes even in the shower. It may not sound the greatest, but I enjoy singing as it makes me happy and relaxed. In gymnastics, I would do my floor routine and perform to my selected music. My mind was always relaxed when I performed my floor routine. It would clear my mind and I would be so happy when I performed the completed my routine. I would feel a sense of accomplishment if I could complete my routine as planned. Being that I can't do my gymnastics any more, my music video would combine all of these and always bring a smile to brighten my day. I try to be a happy person, because like Mr. M said "Life is too short to be mad all the time.". Being with my friends and family and making music videos always brightens my day. MkAy ByEE! :)

Sup-a-dee-dup-dup! This past Thursday was the first "All Kauai" edition of Hiki No, episode 603. This year, we were lucky to get 2 of our videos from our CKTV class on to this episode. One of our videos were made by Brandon and Jonathan which was about the Kauai Plantation Coffee Company. The second video that we was selected to Hiki No was made Taylor and I. Micah, Brandon, and I also did voice overs and stand-ups. My stand up took forever to get done, mainly because I couldn't remember the whole spiel. When I finally got it right, the sun bouncer blew away, so when it's not one thing it's the other. If you didn't get a chance to see it, the full episode is below. Hope you enjoy it! Please comment and tell me how you liked it. oKay bYe!!!

Very special thanks to Micah and Brandon who helped Taylor and I at Hanakapiai and through out our project. Also, thank you to Mr. M for always being so patient with me and helping us and staying late with us until 7pm to get voice overs done on the last day.

This week's blog topic is about our interviews. Since the SOS (Save our Shearwater) season started in mid-September, Taylor and I have decided to do our topic on the MERLIN Radar System. This system is to conduct bird surveys, specifically on the shearwaters here on Kauai. Taylor and I have finished our 5 points and the TIAS, which is currently in the link button below. We are in the process of scheduling our interviews with Carey Koide, KIUC Transmission Distribution Manager; Shelley Paik, KIUC Communications Representative; Tracy Anderson, coordinator of SOS (Save our Shearwaters) Program Coordinator. Carey Koide is the Manager of KIUC's Transmission and Distribution Department. He is also the person in charge of the KIUC Save Our Shearwater program and is the contact for the KIUC MERLIN Rador System. During our interview with Mr. Koide, we plan on collecting information about the radar that they use to track the Shearwaters. I''m looking forward to talking to him because I'm interested in how this helps protect our Shearwaters and take a look at it and get some good b-roll. Shelley Paik will be another person we are in the process of setting up an interview with at KIUC. She is the KIUC contact person for the Save our Shearwaters. She would have information about what they are doing to help protect these endangered birds. Lastly, we are planning to interview the program coordinator for SOS,, Tracy Anderson. The Save our Shearwater program is a program to help protect the Shearwaters. This program has volunteers that help rescue, rehabilitate, and release the birds into the wild. We are looking forward to this next project because the MERLIN Radar is something that not many people know about and are able to get the information or b-roll. We are hoping to gather some good b-roll and meet all our deadlines and make this a good 2nd quarter project.

Hi guys, I'm back with a new blog. This blog is going to be about the brutal 6-day STN Challenge that took place last Friday to Wednesday. For those of you who don't know what the STN Challenge is, it's basically a national competition that’s 6 days long. Last year, I participated in the challenge with my 2 partners, Lindsey and Brooke. The second group included Micah, Brandon, and Ben. Our topic last year was "A World of Difference". I didn't sleep at home. for 5 days. Micah's group won 1st place and my group took 3rd place. This year our topic was "Home Is Where The Heart Is". We were initially going to do it on the homeless, but switched it to the Taba compound. The Taba's are a close family that live in Kalaheo within 100 feet of each other. They always get together on their free time to spend time with each other and share stories and laughs. We had our own fun during the filming process, like going down this giant slide with the gopro to get b-roll. I think we produced an award winning video, now all that's left is to wait for the results. It was a great learning experience to prepare ourselves for the upcoming STN challenge.

Hey, fall break is over and it's back to blogs. Over the first quarter I have learned many lessons and I have to say that there is always room for improvement. First quarter is always the "learning" quarter. It's the quarter we teach and guide the newbies. There are three main areas that I feel I could still make improvements. I would improve in areas as mic. cockroaches, audio for radios, and b-roll sequencing. Some of you may be wondering "what in the world is she talking about?’’. Well when I went to the media camp in the summer, they called the mics that stick out of the shirt or visible as a "cockroach". I have to improve on this because during my interviews at Hanakapiai, the visitors were coming down the trail, soaking wet with sweat (ewww) and we had to interview them. As we set them up for interviews, the hikers clipped the mic on out side of their shirt since they were so sweaty. Mr. M was not too happy that I didn't put the mic. under their shirt. He reminded us that no matter how sweaty or stink they are, you still put the mic. under their shirt so it is not visible. Also, I could improve on my recording process of my radios. During the recording of my radios there was echoes in the background. Mr. M said that it could be from sitting too far way from the mic. or sitting too close to the wall. I thought about it and I was sitting close to the mic, but too close to the wall which probably created the echo. I also have to make sure that there is also no background noise. When Taylor and I were recording, we could hear students yelling and laughing. We tried to make them be quite, but it wasn't our media group that was making the noise. When we edited and exported you could hear the students in the background. Finally, I could work on my b-roll sequencing. During our project, I forgot to take my b-roll in a sequence. So because of that I had to put all of my b-roll in and not have a series of shots. During the first quarter I learned that you never put the mic outside of the interviewer's shirt no matter how sweaty they are, always check your audio after recording, and make sure you shoot your b-roll in a sequence. Till next time this has been Kelli Okayama blogging.... HAHAHA. Bye!!!